Top Saudi diplomat says Iran is making conflicts worse

Associated Press

Published
2:22 pm PDT, Monday, October 13, 2014

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal looks on during a press conference with the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (unseen) following their meeting in the coastal City of Jeddah, on October 13, 2014. Iran must withdraw its "occupying" forces from Syria to help resolve that country's conflict, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said after talks with his German counterpart. less

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal looks on during a press conference with the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (unseen) following their meeting in the coastal City of Jeddah, on ... more

Photo: STR / AFP/Getty Images

Photo: STR / AFP/Getty Images

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Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal looks on during a press conference with the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (unseen) following their meeting in the coastal City of Jeddah, on October 13, 2014. Iran must withdraw its "occupying" forces from Syria to help resolve that country's conflict, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said after talks with his German counterpart. less

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal looks on during a press conference with the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (unseen) following their meeting in the coastal City of Jeddah, on ... more

Photo: STR / AFP/Getty Images

Top Saudi diplomat says Iran is making conflicts worse

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Monday lashed out at regional rival Iran, accusing the Shiite powerhouse of having forces inside Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and insisting that Iran is “part of the problem” in trying to defuse the myriad Mideast crises.

Saud al-Faisal said that Tehran should pull its troops — which he called “occupying forces” — from the three Mideast nations stricken by conflicts and violence if it wants to be part of the solution.

Iran insists it has no forces on the ground in any of the three countries but has sent advisers to help Syrian President Bashar Assad keep his hold on power and to the Shiite-led government in Baghdad to battle the Islamic State group.

Iran is Syria’s strongest ally in the Middle East and has provided Assad’s government with military and political backing for years. Iran also is believed to be sending weapons and money to Syria.

Saudi Arabia has joined the U.S.-led coalition in air strikes against Islamic State fighters who have taken over parts of Iraq and Syria, saying it seeks to both support the Syrian opposition battling Assad and crush the extremist fighters.

“In many of these conflicts, Iran is part of the problem and not part of the solution,” al-Faisal said during a joint news conference in the Saudi city of Jiddah with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

“If Iran wants to contribute to solving the problems in Syria, it should withdraw its troops from Syria,” he said, adding the same applies to Yemen and Iraq.